Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford is a physicist and astronomer at the University of California, Irvine.
He is the author of a series of hard SF novels, beginning with In the Ocean of Night (1978) and
following quickly with works such as Timescape (1980) and the popular
Galactic Centre series, including Across the Sea of Suns, Great Sky River (1987),
Tides of Light (1989) and Furious Gulf (1994).

There are two sides to any story, and by this I don't mean two differing point of view on events.
Rather, there are two components: the narrative, and the characters who live out that narrative. In
general, it seems fair to say that science fiction is a narrative-driven genre, and while the
characters are important, they often play second or third fiddle to the storyline. Sometimes this
focus on narrative is essentially unavoidable -- take Asimov's Foundation Series. The work spans
thousands of years, and no one character could remain alive long enough to resolve its conflicts.

Gregory Benford, then, might be considered an exception to the rule. He tries, and many would
say succeeds, to give his characters a certain equality with the narrative. Eater does this adroitly,
with as much of the conflict resulting from the tension between Benjamin and Channing
Knowlton and Kingsley Dart as from the events surrounding them.

This love-triangle-that-was reawakens when these three co-workers and competitors are forced to
deal with an enigmatic singularity that is rapidly approaching our solar system, and which
suddenly decides it's time to talk to us. Faced with this unfathomable intelligence and its
uncertain plans regarding Earth, the three members of this triangle are forced to combine their
intellects and experience in a time of unique crisis.

When they first discover this wandering black hole and see it "eating" asteroids and other space
debris, the competition, especially between Benjamin and Kingsley, is damaging and
counter-productive to the interests of research. But when it becomes clear that this Eater is in
some way sentient, and that it perhaps would like a taste of our solar system, it is these three
individuals who help formulate Earth's response and seek to ensure that, however Eater satisfies
its hunger, there will be some of us left to remember it and carry on.

And their story doesn't take place in a vacuum either. In fact, Benford does a masterful job of
depicting the academic versus political worlds and how they both react to a potential cataclysm.
The inertia and manipulation that takes place in the political realm is especially worth
remembering for Americans in this election year 2000, and it is contrasted with the almost childlike awe felt by
academics, who can be equally ineffective in dealing with real-life situations if they are not
prodded.

All of this focus on characters does not in any way take away from the narrative itself, and
Benford's newest novel is very much a story of forces greater than ourselves and how we might
respond to their indifference to ensure our own survival.

In this sense, Eater is standard science fiction fare. And you certainly can partake of this meal
simply to satisfy your appetite for the big and the dangerous. But if you hunger for more, there
are flavours here that will challenge your palate, and which will be left for you to savour long after
the actual eating is over.

Chris Donner is a freelance writer and magazine editor living in Manhattan
and working in Connecticut. He will read almost anything once, as it makes
the train ride go faster. He is currently writing a screenplay, a novel,
several short stories, a collection of poems, and a letter to his mother.
The letter will probably be done first.